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Thursday, March 1, 2012

Barnes and Noble CUT Affiliate Monies on Ebooks and Other Electronic Media

My Nook is sad.

First, a quick word on affiliate traffic....for those who don't know. Most online retailers offer a small commission on the purchases made to a website owner willing to advertise their products. Amazon has such a program, called Amazon Affiliates with very cool widgets and API tools. Like most areas of comparison between Barnes and Noble and Amazon, Barnes and Noble's program is a half-hearted shell of the robust Amazon offering.

Barnes and Noble's affiliate program is through LinkShare. It's not even in-house. Then, only select affiliates were allowed to "deep link" that is link to specific products to recommend to their readers. And finally, the death knell has sounded for Nook, as the Terms and Conditions were just updated to include this:

All products sold on BN.com receive 6% commission with the exception of customized gift cards, eBooks, digital magazines, digital newspapers, and any other ePeriodical.

That's right, affiliate percentages are only 4-6% on average, a few programs offer the sweet deal of 10%. To be clear, affiliates ONLY receive this commission on the purchases made by the traffic THEY drive to the site. This is tracked using cookies and tokens in the URL.

Affiliates ALREADY lost out on significant ebook affiliate monies because there's only a 30-60 minute window for a purchase to be made for it to count towards the affiliate. So, if I visited say, KotC, saw an ebook that struck my fancy, downloaded a sample, read it, and then purchased the book, they don't get affiliate monies for that. I'd have to go back to KotC, click the link again, and then make my purchase for it count for them. And on a $.99 ebook, that's a $0.4-$.06 commission for them for taking the time to highlight the book for me....

THIS IS BAD FOR NOOK INDIE BUSINESS

There was already a gross disproportion of Kindle book review and recommendation sites than Nook Book sites. Partly because it took so long for Barnes and Noble to even HAVE an affiliate network, and Amazon's been running an in-house affiliate program for years. With no return on advertising a Nook ebook, there is really no monetary incentive for a review site or book recommendation site to advertise Nook ebooks. Sorry, Barnes and Noble, advertising is NOT free!!!!!

It takes HOURS to go through author submissions, verify information, and make daily listings of books. I don't know of a single ebook reviewer or site owner about to retire on the riviera from that 4-6% kick back for advertising products. There ARE big time sites with tons of traffic that make a decent living doing what they do best, advertise to the masses, but the reality is the more traffic you have, the more staff you need and server costs you incur.

I am VERY disappointed in Barnes and Noble's continual stifling attitude towards digital reading. They already do not link paperback and Nook book versions on many books, burying ebook listings of titles below insidious products like Noise-Cancelling Headphones!

When my ebook of Cancelled was available on Nook, the keyword Cancelled brought up the Amazon distributed paper book first. Yes, the AMAZON distributed Createspace paperback was result #1. What was next? Three sets of noise-cancelling headphones. Finally, below the fold, they listed the Nook book published through their own digital publishing arm, PubIt!.

To now cut affiliate marketing on Nook books either screams to me they are lacking funds to pay for the results-rewarded advertising campaign, or they are indeed preparing to spin Nook off into a separate company... Either way, it's a really dumb way to give Amazon yet ANOTHER advantage.

This isn't about killing the indies etc. as it applies to ALL Nook books, including traditionally published ones. This is about Barnes and Noble repeatedly sending the message that they will not encourage the sale of their digital products to help readers who prefer reading on a Nook rather than a paperback. And THAT is poor customer service.

A robotics engineer asks his business partner to marry him, but a previous one-night stand is having his baby. CANCELLED is available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble

WIP: STONE. Can Melanie Stone let her mother back into her life and kick out the creep trying to worm his way in? March 2012.

19 comments:

Barnes & Noble's Steve Riggio is in for the run of his life. He seems unaware the crows are already picking his jacket right off his body. They spun off Game Stop (good move) and will definetely spin off the Nook as a kiosk in store and out in Target, probably try Nordstroms or some other flawed concept. The "showrooms" as Riggio calls them - not bookstores- now devote 15% floor space and a special Nook pusher to each store. Don't get me wrong, the android nook is lovely. B&N is still fighting Ron Burkle's $$ lawsuit over ebooks. They will also sell the cafe's to a restaurant chain to reduce rents (sublease spin offs). I smell hedge funds, Ares, Dalton, Tracinda, maybe Och-Ziff? This would raise capitol but will fail the whole bookstore. What B&N could do is USE the assets they have in new ways. They have good location retail. B&N needs to get teens into the stores. Get the community managers to do their job. Hire cool smart bookish teens not frumpy old ladies in store. Actually have live events every Friday and Saturday with authors live, musicians out in a courtyard, children's events on Saturday morning Mom and me reading groups... Why did they cut the cord with all those million mom bloggers? They could have offered a new program under new subchapter company to pay bloggers per click rather than make the program not worth the juice for the squeeze. Amazon is opening it's first bookstore- retail square footage and is looking at more locations to try new ventures. Mr. Riggio when the ravens are on your back, you better fly like a hawk and get your team up to speed or peril. PS I LOVE Barnes and Noble I want them to survive.

I AGREE Caroline!!! 110%. Barnes and Noble has a GREAT, comfy retail space to run family-friendly literacy related events. I LOVED going to every Harry Potter release event. Loved it. And guess what, I NEVER walked out of a Barnes and Noble store without my credit card $100 heavier.

But those days are over. I'm buying my 11-year-old ebooks. My 2-year-old gets second hand books because she still destroys them. Even then, I don't want the clutter of books. I don't. Now once my kids are older and have favorites they read and reread, then absolutely. But the digital revolution is as distruptive as the paperback revolution was in 19 or 18 hhzhxxhghr (i don't know when). Books/stories are becoming far more CONSUMABLE than COLLECTIBLE. That's where it's going. And Barnes and Noble needs to get on the damn bus instead of putting in more speed bumps.

Yet another screwup from B&N! It makes me sad, too. Amazon needs some real competition, or its benefits for both authors and customers will eventually erode. B&N so needs to step up its game in customer service and tech support. I signed up for this affiliate program last summer, and never could figure out how to link specific products with it. All I got was a bunch of spam from LinkShare, enough that I'd cancel my account if I could figure out how (without spending an hour or more reading). I don't buy from B&N.com anymore because I attempted to order something, not realizing my default CC had expired. They didn't just decline the order and suggest I update my payment method (like Amazon did), they LOCKED my account. The email said I'd have to CALL to get it reinstated. Why would I do that when I can just buy from Amazon? Sadly, the affiliate program change is just another example of the shortsightedness that's going to send B&N the way of Borders, I'm afraid. Good, thoughtful analysis!

Thank you for the article, Elizabeth. This is really troubling, especially given the hubabaloo about Smashwords this week as well. I was a big fan of Borders, but never felt the same way about Barnes & Noble. Still, I wanted them to survive. When they announced they wouldn't be stocking Amazon-published titles (about a month ago), I gave up on them and accepted the fact the would be going out of business. I also gave in and did KDP Select, which I had been holding out on out of loyalty to Barnes & Noble. This is so troubling...

It is indeed torubling, Emlyn, and thank you for stopping by and commenting. I apologize my previous interaction with you wasn't the greatest and just the result of poor timing as everyone was about the "trick Amazon into giving 70% on a $.99 ebook price by changing it on Nook and not changing on Amazon."

I WAS rooting for Barnes and Noble. I was. I loved taking my daughter there once a week for storytime (down in South Carolina they still had that). There is a warmth to Barnes and Noble that I haven't found in any other book store. I wasn't upset about them not stocking Amazon-"traditionally published" titles in stores. But sooooo much of what they do is reactionary. It's time to get visionary. Now is the time to reach out to sites and make a Nook Country Daily or Nook Network etc. Not kill the one incentive you have for independent marketers to advertise your products!

And I didn't even think about my book cover being a good graphic lol. I added my pencil guy late because I realized it looked like my ebook was a bad thing or something. Live and learn. But that is pretty funny.

Absolutely. No worries about before. You raised an issue I wasn't aware of. While I know a lot about the indie publishing scene, I don't know everything and am always learning. I like people who can teach me things, like you have done twice now :-D

I was a Borders girl through and through. That probably had something to do with being an Ann Arbor-ite, living in the same town as Borders' headquarters. The flagship store also sponsored my book group and went above and beyond to accommodate us (even leading coffee tastings and providing free snacks). When they closed, we went over to Barnes & Noble. They were welcoming the first time, but then basically told us our group was too large, and we should go elsewhere. Too large is around 30 people per meeting, but we were bringing them good business! This is a personal anecdote, but to me, it speaks to the different management styles between the two companies.

Yes, I seem to be quickly becoming that Terms & Conditions girl.... LOL.

Barnes and Nobles DO vary by local and management. LOVED our local Barnes and Noble in SC, the one in Chesapeake, VA back in the early 2000s had a manager with a huge stick up you know where.... Now we live in CT and the "local" B&N is 50 miles away. We had a Borders in Waterford, but it was liquidating by the time we got there. now it's a BAM (Books-a-million) and MAN that place stinks. It's just tables and tables of crap all over, dark, and not a single chair anywhere.

Now that I have a little one, I love the convenience on ebook shopping. And I am quickly liking the crisper e-ink on my Kindle cheapie with special offers than my Nook touch... :(

I could never do Nook or iPad for eReading. I have a light sensitivity issue and the glare off those things gives me really bad headaches. My Kindle is even easier to read than print books; I'm just totally in love with it.

Barnes & Noble SUCKS! They are shooting themselves in the foot. I run a website called www.mightyplace.com and they just sent me an email that my affiliation with them would be terminated on July 6, 2012 without reason. I have sent them referrals that have made purchases and done nothing but advertised for them and this is their thanks. Companies pay millions every year to advertise and here I am asking them to allow me to advertise for FREE and they are saying no now after a year of being in their program. They deserve to go out of business! :(

I, too, applied to the B&N affiliate program over a month ago. I read that I couldn't do it through Linkshare, so I sent an email to the address provided. But I never heard from them. Strangely enough, it feels to me like they are in their own kind of restructuring movement. I'm not counting them as down and out yet. I'm mainly curious to see what their angle will be, once it's presented. I don't really blame them for not carrying Amazon published books, especially in light of the exclusive requirements of the KDP Select program. I feel competition coming from them in an unexpected way, and I am curious to see what it will be.

I too went to LinkShare, searched Barnes & Noble, with no joy. I found a Barnes & Noble page dedicated to links (http://affiliates.barnesandnoble.com/banners-logos/ ). This B&N page would customize your HTML for your LinkShare affiliate number! There were references to LinkShare in the HTML but the code didn't work. Links are dead and no images loaded or anything. :^/

About Me

Raised in Virginia Beach, VA, I now live where the Navy sends us! The last eight years of building a life with my best friend have been fantastic, and have flown right on by! My kids keep me busy, and young. I've spent the last 5 years writing, first non-fiction articles, and now novels. My debut novel, CANCELLED is now available as an ebook and paperback.

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Disclosure of Affiliate Status

Elizabeth Ann West is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.